Gov. Kate Brown announced on Friday that Umatilla and Morrow counties will remain in Phase 1 due to high case counts of coronavirus.
Brown also announced a new prerequisite for entering Phase 2: Counties with more than 100 cases must have their case counts reduced to 100 cases or fewer per 100,000 people per week.
Over the two-week period of Aug. 16-29, Morrow County had a total of 46 cases — a rate of 362.7 per 100,000 people. In that same time frame, Umatilla County had a total of 236 cases — a rate of 292.1 per 100,000 people. Both counties have also reporter several large workplace outbreaks.
Also on Friday, Brown also announced that Baker County has reduced the spread of COVID-19 sufficiently to be removed from the County Watch List.
“I want to commend county officials and community members in Baker County for their efforts in curbing community spread of COVID-19,” said Brown. “Their work in reducing community transmission warrants removal from the Watch List and is a good reminder of how we can reduce the spread of this disease if we work together.”
